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Rossie isn’t very comfortable right now, but what recent graduate really is? I disassembled Rossie’s cage today. She hasn’t been in it for at least two months. I removed the box from the corner she has been hiding in and placed the rocking chair she hides under on the floor with a fresh sleeping pad. Rossie hasn’t been under there yet (but Lady and Tarzan have both investigated). In fact, I’m not certain where she is (she’s hiding behind the trunk to my left). Did I change too much at once for her world? I hope not. She’s been doing so well. Daisy (pictured) is a little confused, too. Ruby was down here a couple hours ago investigating the empty space. Sapphire is checking it out now. I’ve done some of the vacuuming, but need to finish the job. Mr. L processed the stuff in the box that was under the rocking chair, and you can see remnants scattered around the room. What do we have drawer rails for? We don’t remember. He found a handful of N-gauge railroad track and other goodies.

Mr. L came home, so Rossie has emerged from her hiding place and is hiding behind the vacuum cleaner, investigating the area. She looks a little shell-shocked. Daphne just got a little twittish, so Rossie took refuge under the chair. Good. It’s still a defensible position for her.

What do I mean by Daphne being “twittish”? If Rossie or Daisy are out, Daphne will make a run at them in a mock attack. If I ever hear Daisy growling, I know Daphne is nearby. Daphne will do that with Sneaky sometimes, too. Thankfully, Rossie’s confidence has increased to the point where she has a method for handling Daphne’s mock attacks. We’ll see how she handles this next phase in her development. I’m hopeful things remain positive.

I don’t want to get too excited just yet, but Lady has had free reign in the house for a couple of weeks now. She’s limping some but seems to be recovering well from her broken foot. She’s not letting it bother her. For the moment all nine cats have been living in relative peace. How long that will last, we do not know, but we remain hopeful. Rossie rarely grants us petting time, but she is visible and present. We consider that a positive. Daisy grants petting privileges when she’s in the petting chair. Sapphire is permitting me to pet her in the morning when she escorts me to the bathroom — which is tremendous progress in her socialization.

Sneaky remains sequestered in the dining room, and that’s the way she likes it. I join her in the recliner at least once a day for 20-60 minutes, and she’s happy about that. Sometimes she waylays Mr. L for the same.

Zelda has been eyeing the door and contemplating if she wants to come inside, but, so far, I’ve been unsuccessful at luring her in. She remains distainful of the trap, so it would appear the only way I’ll be abe to catch her for her annual exam and vaccinations is to earn her trust enough to pick her up and put her into a carrier. We seem to be quite a ways away from that.

Walter is on a different schedule from us. I see him on the game camera, but I haven’t seen him in person for a couple weeks. I expect to see him in the next couple days, because it’s time for me to apply his Revolution, and he always seems to show up on time for that.

We have updates on three of our girls this week. First, Lady is doing well. I’m letting her out of the cage more and more, and she’s moving around reasonably well. She still limps, and, mostly, she wants in one of our laps. She has sharp claws, and she’s not afraid to implant them in our knees to let us know she wants to be in our laps. She purrs happily and loudly when she gets lap time. I think her foot will be misshapen, but that will bother me more than her.

Earlier this week, Sapphire disappeared. She won’t let us handle her, and she has an odd way about her, but not seeing that little face in the morning ready to escort me to the bathroom was saddening. We searched the house from top to bottom, checking places she had no way of getting into just to be sure, but we could not find her. There was really only one likely place for her to be. The door to Mr. L’s den had been open the day she disappeared. I chased Daphne out, looked for other cats, and seeing none, I closed the door. Mr. L searched the room twice, and I searched it two times as well. Later in the evening of the second day, I stepped into the den and closed the door behind me. I sat quietly in Mr. L’s desk chair. Sure enough, about five minutes later a little gray imp appeared and ran back to her hiding place when I moved. I opened the door to the den and waited some more. After two tries, Sapphire left the room, and I chased the other cats out and closed the door behind us.

The interesting thing with Sapphire is, despite her not wanting us to handle her, she’s nearby much of the time, especially when we go upstairs to bed at night — she escorts each of us up the stairs, staying just out of reach. In the morning, she is usually waiting by my door to escort me to the bathroom. Lately, she’s begun letting me pet her once or twice each morning. Despite the limited contact, she’s a beautiful, impish cat, and I’d be sadder than you might think if she weren’t around to tease me. (The featured image above is her kitten photo, but her eyes and expression remain the same.)

Finally, we come to Zelda, who willingly walked into a trap a year ago so I could get her tested, spayed, and vaccinated. It’s exam and vaccination time again. The picture tells you everything Zelda wants you and I to know about what she thinks of this idea. Zelda will come within three feet of us, but she stays out of touching range. When I set this trap up yesterday, she carefully sniffed the entrance but would not cross the plane. She also glared at me, leaving no doubt what she thought about my attempt at subterfuge.

We’re checking in late, but there’s nothing new to report. Rossie puts herself to bed if I am not there to tuck her in at 8 pm. She likes routine. Sapphire hangs out with Sneaky during the day. Mr. L is doing his best to earn Daisy’s affection, and she …Continue reading →

I’m going to pout just a little bit. I see all kinds of people who have cats adopt them. These cats or cuddly and playful and allow them to handle them. You’ve heard of the Land of Misfit Toys. I seem to have become the Land of Misfit Cats. Except, …Continue reading →

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It seems to me, just a few cats have been getting all the attention lately, so I think it’s time for a generic update on everyone. Here goes: Ajax: The old man alpha cat with soul-searching eyes. He’s long, tall, and skinny. He’s Mr. L’s 11-year-old baby. Most of the …Continue reading →

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Thirty days in the slammer wasn’t fun for any of us. People coming and going all day (most of us prefer to be left alone, remember), being ushered from one side of the cage to another for room service, and none of our usual humans to interact with us was …Continue reading →

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In a development which will surprise no one, Daisy is now an inside cat. Mr. L expressed concerns that Zelda might reject her since she’s been gone so long as well as a couple other concerns. I need to put together another cat carrier. I have a couple damaged carriers, …Continue reading →

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Other than our sad news about Nick earlier in the week, the cats’ lives have been quiet. At one time this week, we had four cats lounging on the tower at the same time. I think that’s a first. Rossie was in the bottom “bunk.” Lady was in the middle …Continue reading →